Duke-NUS GMS

BlackTalon · Mar 18, 2009

TrueSPorean said:
Actually they wouldn't send out exactly 50 acceptances, especially when the med school application season is still going on. They usually send more than 50 acceptances. The season is still going on at the US side, and has started for Australian universities. IDP has hosted a Medschool and Health sciences fair like 2 weeks ago.

For my case, being prepared to "lose"/"rejected" seems to calm my nerves. I guess it's the same in sports. When you go in expecting to lose, you are not worried about the outcome. You will perceive anything more than a loss is a bonus. And somehow, as an ex-sportsmen, some of my best performances come when my team was considered an underdog (expected to lose).

Personally, for my case, either outcomes will be positive. If rejected, I will be looking forward to beach life at Brisbane (Uni of Queensland). There's definitely a reason why Australia ranks above Singapore in terms of quality of life.

Haha, good point! Wonder how many of those accepted will actually choose to matriculate.

You can be prepared for rejection, because you have a nice backup plan in place. For me, Australia med school or PhD are rather poor alternatives.

I'm probably less anxious that I sound though. Don't worry, I won't burn the school down if I'm rejected!

channer · Mar 18, 2009

wannaBaMedstdnt said:
CONGRATS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE!

did you get your financial aid package yet? i was able to delay my deadline until i received that information...

Thanks!

(forgot this smiley before)

I haven't gotten my fin aid package yet, or my snail mail. If I don't get it soon, I'm going to ask if I can delay my decision until I've received it. Thanks!

wannaBaMedstdnt · Mar 18, 2009

channer said:
Thanks! (forgot this smiley before)

I haven't gotten my fin aid package yet, or my snail mail. If I don't get it soon, I'm going to ask if I can delay my decision until I've received it. Thanks!

channer, where are you living right now? i got my acceptance a couple weeks ago, but both the big packet of letters that they sent via pdf and the fin aid letter came in the mail yesterday... just email tammie and ask if you can have an extension, they were pretty chill about it

channer · Mar 18, 2009

wannaBaMedstdnt said:
channer, where are you living right now? i got my acceptance a couple weeks ago, but both the big packet of letters that they sent via pdf and the fin aid letter came in the mail yesterday... just email tammie and ask if you can have an extension, they were pretty chill about it

I live in Singapore, so I should get the packet a day or two after they put it in the mail (I'm assuming you live in the states, so that's why is took longer?). I might ask for an extension anyway, i'm still waiting for decisions from a couple of other schools which should be coming soon...

Thanks for all your help! Its good to know that the fin aid comes with the acceptance package, i'm anxious to know how much i'm going to get as it will be a big factor in my decision!

onestepatatime · Mar 18, 2009

Was the financial aid letter separate?

I still haven't received it yet... maybe they are still calculating hehehe

wannaBaMedstdnt · Mar 18, 2009

onestepatatime said:
Was the financial aid letter separate?

I still haven't received it yet... maybe they are still calculating hehehe

yeah it was separate... i got an email first... and they also sent a paper copy but it took so long for the big acceptance packet to get to the US by mail that the financial aid package got here at the same time...

onestepatatime · Mar 18, 2009

lol my acceptance package took nearly 2 weeks

and it got crumpled :laugh:

But still, I haven't received even the Financial Aid email...

I can wait... got other stuff to do... like graduating

wannaBaMedstdnt · Mar 18, 2009

onestepatatime said:
lol my acceptance package took nearly 2 weeks and it got crumpled

But still, I haven't received even the Financial Aid email...

I can wait... got other stuff to do... like graduating

hahaha mine got crumpled too & the seal on the envelope popped open!

i know.. im finishing up my masters in may... i think my brain has gone on strike in a combination of senioritis & a preemptive break to prepare for medical school madness...

march123 · Mar 18, 2009

hey... this is my first post on SDN... who did u ask to write references for u? have trouble thinking who to ask for... thanks!!

copster · Mar 18, 2009

Hey guys. I got accepted a few days back too! The people who haven't heard back yet should keep waiting. Acceptances are coming like a box of chocolates.

chocoholic85 · Mar 18, 2009

march123 said:
hey... this is my first post on SDN... who did u ask to write references for u? have trouble thinking who to ask for... thanks!!

hey march123,

I think references should be written by people who can atest to your leadership qualities, academic research (if you're currently doing a research project), community involvement or simply your character. Ideally, academic references (ie your professors who know you well or project supervisor) would be the best since you are applying to medical school. ^_^ hope this helps!

march123 · Mar 19, 2009

chocoholic85 said:
hey march123,

I think references should be written by people who can atest to your leadership qualities, academic research (if you're currently doing a research project), community involvement or simply your character. Ideally, academic references (ie your professors who know you well or project supervisor) would be the best since you are applying to medical school. ^_^ hope this helps!

thanks for ur prompt reply!

i can't think of 3 people to write for me! perhaps my current supervisor for FYP could help... but the other 2???

BlackTalon · Mar 19, 2009

march123 said:
thanks for ur prompt reply!

i can't think of 3 people to write for me! perhaps my current supervisor for FYP could help... but the other 2???

Well, you could get your other prof that you know well or did well for their modules to write one for you. They will usually be willing to interview you and write a letter based on that. But make sure they will write a strong letter.

onestepatatime · Mar 19, 2009

march123 said:
thanks for ur prompt reply!

i can't think of 3 people to write for me! perhaps my current supervisor for FYP could help... but the other 2???

I assume you are applying for next year intake.

First, I think only YOU can answer your own question because we have no idea what experiences you have or who knows you best.

As well, what was said above was also good advice.

In addition, Duke Nus allows you to send 5 reference letters.

So basically, just ask people who can support you and see you as a perfect fit for the school (its pretty different in a good way... so research the school); whether talking about your research/problem solving experience or how you socialize with others, you academic strengths, your curiosity etc....

It is totally up to you on how you want to present yourself to the admission committee.

Good luck

march123 · Mar 19, 2009

any suggestions if i were to ask ppl who are not my prof? i.e. not from the university itself?

thanks!

BlackTalon · Mar 19, 2009

march123 said:
any suggestions if i were to ask ppl who are not my prof? i.e. not from the university itself?

thanks!

It really depends on how close you are to the person, and the person him/herself. Some will ask you to draft a letter which they edit and sign, allowing you to decide what you would like to portray to the adcom. I suggest you offer to draft the letter yourself, or at least tell the person what you would like him/her to highlight. A weak LOR is not very useful.

Bioinformatics · Mar 19, 2009

march123 said:
any suggestions if i were to ask ppl who are not my prof? i.e. not from the university itself?

thanks!

Hi march123,

Besides Profs you can also ask your extra-curricular activities supervisors, or your voluntary group supervisor if you've done any. Basically you want someone who can say how good a person you are, not necessarily just academically but also in your other activities.

If you can't think of any at the moment you might want to start joining some volunteer groups, to get more experience and to cement your desire of wanting to help people. There's still a lot of time to get months of volunteering experience before you have to send in your application for the next admission cycle.

Now for my case, I'm not sure whether Duke-NUS will still consider me, a late MCAT taker. Haven't heard any thing from them besides confirmation that they have received my official scores. I guess late applications really put me at a disadvantage.

Oh well, I will just hope for the best for now. If I don't get it this time around I'll just apply early next year

Good luck everyone else, for those who are still waiting for news, and those who are entering the school.
If you think admission process is hard I can only imagine that it will get harder when the school starts hehe.

march123 · Mar 19, 2009

when does the application usually open?? sometime in june this year for next year's intake is it ?

when do you ask the people to write your recommendation letters? would it be too early if i ask now?

thanks!

Bioinformatics · Mar 19, 2009

march123 said:
when does the application usually open?? sometime in june this year for next year's intake is it ?

when do you ask the people to write your recommendation letters? would it be too early if i ask now?

thanks!

Usually they'll have their series of Admission Seminars in the middle of the year, and they'll start accepting applications up to 1 Dec deadline.

I think if you complete everything by October it should be early enough, then you can go to one of their earliest interview sessions, somewhere in November if I'm not wrong.
Who knows, if you're that good you might even get acceptance soon after that.

No harm in asking for recommendation letters early I guess. Well, you might want to tell them to only send it out much later when the admission is open but you can always tell your Profs now that you want them to write one for you. This should give them enough time.

I think I gave my Profs 2 months notice, but still 2 of them sent the letters late :laugh:

. Duke-NUS still accept them though, they're not that strict with LOR letters deadline because they know how busy Profs are.

FreeAsABird · Mar 21, 2009

Anybody other than WannabeMedStudent get their financial aid packages yet? Are they generous?

Fizban · Mar 23, 2009

Eh, no news arh?

labgod · Mar 24, 2009

i was accepted back in december, but i just withdrew my spot today. i hope one of you guys replace my spot! good luck!

BlackTalon · Mar 25, 2009

WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm gonna be a DOCTOR!!!

:banana:

I'm sure you guys will get your acceptances soon! Hope to cya there!

Bioinformatics · Mar 25, 2009

BlackTalon said:
WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm gonna be a DOCTOR!!!

I'm sure you guys will get your acceptances soon! Hope to cya there!

Congrats BlackTalon! Now you can relax and wait til August hehe.

Just got news from Tammie, they still haven't forgotten us late MCAT takers. She said they're still holding interviews and the next one will be in April.

Hopefully I can get a spot there :xf:

Fizban · Mar 25, 2009

Wow congratulations Blacktalon. Your dreams came true =)

onestepatatime · Mar 25, 2009

BlackTalon said:
WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm gonna be a DOCTOR!!!

I'm sure you guys will get your acceptances soon! Hope to cya there!

Congrats! seeya in (late) July!

channer · Mar 25, 2009

BlackTalon said:
WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm gonna be a DOCTOR!!!

I'm sure you guys will get your acceptances soon! Hope to cya there!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! :soexcited:

That's awesome. I hope you have fun celebrating.

Has anyone heard about financial aid yet?

BlackTalon · Mar 25, 2009

Thanks guys. Well I haven't celebrated yet... not really that sort of guy

wannaBaMedstdnt · Mar 25, 2009

BlackTalon said:
WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm gonna be a DOCTOR!!!

I'm sure you guys will get your acceptances soon! Hope to cya there!

congrats!! see - all that worrying for nothing!

channer · Mar 25, 2009

BlackTalon said:
Thanks guys. Well I haven't celebrated yet... not really that sort of guy

I went out to dinner (for chilli crab! No one in my family really eats crab so it was all mine

), so that was kind of the extent of my celebration. Lame, I know.

Anyhoo. I was snooping around and found this Duke-NUS students wiki that I thought might be helpful for those looking for housing in Singapore. (Maybe everyone knows about this already?)

https://teamgms.gms.edu.sg/studentwiki/index.php/Student_Wiki

Its not completed yet, but some sections might be of some use.
(Maybe we weren't supposed to find this yet. oop.)

chocoholic85 · Mar 25, 2009

channer said:
I went out to dinner (for chilli crab! No one in my family really eats crab so it was all mine ), so that was kind of the extent of my celebration. Lame, I know.

Anyhoo. I was snooping around and found this Duke-NUS students wiki that I thought might be helpful for those looking for housing in Singapore. (Maybe everyone knows about this already?)

https://teamgms.gms.edu.sg/studentwiki/index.php/Student_Wiki

Its not completed yet, but some sections might be of some use.
(Maybe we weren't supposed to find this yet. oop.)

Congrats BlackTalon! ^_^ And regarding the student wiki page, a senior from duke-NUS will be sending an email sometime after you received your acceptance offer with more info abt the school and this link too..so guess no harm finding the link on your own!

wrongperson · Mar 25, 2009

Gratz and thanks for sharing the website! I took a brief look at the student wiki page and I was definitely amazed. The students of Duke-NUS must be putting a lot of effort together for this. For those who are accepted, it must be quite a warm feeling to know that you are joining such friendly bunch of people who are not just studying all the time.

Anyhow, April is coming up, I wonder if they will send the letters in early or late April. Does anyone have any idea? I am just checking my email every 5 minute now, I think I am going crazy.

By the way, anyone wishes to meet up in Singapore in April? I am flying there from US California and staying there for 6 days in the beginning of April. PM me or leave me a message here if you are interested.

BlackTalon · Mar 25, 2009

wannaBaMedstdnt said:
congrats!! see - all that worrying for nothing!

Thanks! Well, in retrospect, I guess all that worrying went to waste.

BlackTalon · Mar 25, 2009

channer said:
I went out to dinner (for chilli crab! No one in my family really eats crab so it was all mine ), so that was kind of the extent of my celebration. Lame, I know.

Anyhoo. I was snooping around and found this Duke-NUS students wiki that I thought might be helpful for those looking for housing in Singapore. (Maybe everyone knows about this already?)

https://teamgms.gms.edu.sg/studentwiki/index.php/Student_Wiki

Its not completed yet, but some sections might be of some use.
(Maybe we weren't supposed to find this yet. oop.)

Whoo... thanks for the link.

If you think your celebration is bad, all I had was a bottle of beer with dinner at home!

BlackTalon · Mar 25, 2009

wrongperson said:
Gratz and thanks for sharing the website! I took a brief look at the student wiki page and I was definitely amazed. The students of Duke-NUS must be putting a lot of effort together for this. For those who are accepted, it must be quite a warm feeling to know that you are joining such friendly bunch of people who are not just studying all the time.

Anyhow, April is coming up, I wonder if they will send the letters in early or late April. Does anyone have any idea? I am just checking my email every 5 minute now, I think I am going crazy.

By the way, anyone wishes to meet up in Singapore in April? I am flying there from US California and staying there for 6 days in the beginning of April. PM me or leave me a message here if you are interested.

Well, I can save you some email checking by telling you that they usually send the email around 1700 - 1800hrs Singapore time. So you can check only during this period! :laugh:

Apparently I harassed Tammie so much that she called me to tell me the news hours before they sent the email!

flocculus · Mar 25, 2009

congrats to all the newbies!

Just a question for those who've received fin aid: did you also receive a bursary? and I'm assuming that bursaries/scholarships are separate from the financial aid assistance? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

channer · Mar 26, 2009

flocculus said:
congrats to all the newbies!

Just a question for those who've received fin aid: did you also receive a bursary? and I'm assuming that bursaries/scholarships are separate from the financial aid assistance? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

I haven't received my financial aid yet, but for me the whole bursary/scholarship/financial aid terminology is confusing. The way I understand is that there are three types of assistance:

1. Merit-based Scholarships - You don't have to apply for these (i.e. fill out the fin. aid application), you are automatically considered upon acceptance. These are valid for all four years (i.e. you don't have to reapply each year).

2. Need-based Scholarships - This is separate from Merit scholarships. You had to apply for this in the fin. aid application. You have to re-apply each year for need-based aid.

3. Loans (TFL)

I don't know what mix of these types of aid people are getting in their financial aid package, but I guess it is possible to be offered both merit and need-based aid.

Can anyone who has received fin aid info back this up?

flocculus · Mar 26, 2009

ok n/m

I read on their site that Fin aid can include any combination of merit based schlsps, need based (bursaries) and loans

So I guess that is my fin aid package??

It's funny how they don't even say financial aid package anywhere on the document.

ratorino · Mar 26, 2009

flocculus said:
ok n/m

I read on their site that Fin aid can include any combination of merit based schlsps, need based (bursaries) and loans

So I guess that is my fin aid package?? It's funny how they don't even say financial aid package anywhere on the document.

When they email you, they probably wrote FA in the title. For me, it's quite clear that.. THAT email contains my FA package.

Bioinformatics · Mar 27, 2009

Just got invited for an interview in 2 weeks' time :laugh:

. Thank God, I thought they had forgotten about me.

Time to prepare for it hehe.

BlackTalon · Mar 27, 2009

Bioinformatics said:
Just got invited for an interview in 2 weeks' time . Thank God, I thought they had forgotten about me.

Time to prepare for it hehe.

Wow, congrats! I didn't know there are still interviews.

So, when would you expect to hear from them? May?

All the best! :luck:

BlackTalon · Mar 27, 2009

flocculus said:
congrats to all the newbies!

Just a question for those who've received fin aid: did you also receive a bursary? and I'm assuming that bursaries/scholarships are separate from the financial aid assistance? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

Well, I've received my financial aid package. It consists of an award amount, which they will disburse in two installments during the acad year. The award is tenable for one year, so we have to reapply every year.

While I don't think it is appropriate to disclose the exact amount here, I can say that the max is $50K, and what I got was more than what I expected. It is really quite generous.

This award can be used for living expenses, textbooks, school fees, etc. With financial aid + tuition loan, I can safely say that Duke-NUS mean what they say with "allow you to pursue your passion for medical education without being too concerned about placing financial hardship on your family".

wannaBaMedstdnt · Mar 27, 2009

Bioinformatics said:
Just got invited for an interview in 2 weeks' time . Thank God, I thought they had forgotten about me.

Time to prepare for it hehe.

yay! congrats, im sure you'll rock it! :xf:

FreeAsABird · Mar 29, 2009

BlackTalon said:
While I don't think it is appropriate to disclose the exact amount here, I can say that the max is $50K, and what I got was more than what I expected. It is really quite generous.
.

Wow. Lucky you! I am a little bummed that my FA package was quite low, but I am grateful for opportunity to study at Duke-NUS. I hope I can be approved for those huge loans I am going to have to take!!

Speaking of which, I remember Dr. Kamei mentioning on the interview day that there were no-interest loans available for Duke-NUS students. But I don't see that information reflected anywhere else. I must have heard wrong, but can anyone else confirm this?

BlackTalon · Mar 29, 2009

FreeAsABird said:
Wow. Lucky you! I am a little bummed that my FA package was quite low, but I am grateful for opportunity to study at Duke-NUS. I hope I can be approved for those huge loans I am going to have to take!!

Speaking of which, I remember Dr. Kamei mentioning on the interview day that there were no-interest loans available for Duke-NUS students. But I don't see that information reflected anywhere else. I must have heard wrong, but can anyone else confirm this?

Hmm, actually, I was only expecting a few thousand bucks, like around the range of 5K, so I was surprised when they gave more. Doesn't mean it is THAT generous!